Thursday, November 28, 2013

Marine Spatial Planning as an ecological and economic process

28 November, Steve Pognowski, Marine Spatial Planning, Suva Fiji -Meeting biodiversity targets, building networks of regional agencies and creating income streams for traditional owners from natural therapies formed part of fourth-day workshop discussions at the University of South Pacific, Suva, Fiji on Thursday (28 November).Access and benefit-sharing (ABS) also featured in a presentation on the Nagoya Protocol, which supports the ability of communities to gain income from developing or selling the rights to a commercial product made from organic compounds from their region.Andreas Drews, of the ABS Initiative, said the long process leading to the signing of the Nagoya Protocol in 2010 had put in place a rigorous regulatory framework. He said the Protocol helped protect communities (that had used natural products for generations) from exploitation.Riibeta Abeta, MACBIO Regional Planning Officer in Suva, said the workshop was helping attendees find connections from other countries and similar projects for collaboration.